Set on a rise in undulating pasture near Carrickhenry in County Sligo, the ringfort commands clear views of King's Mountain, Knocknarea, the Ox Mountains, and Benbulbin, meaning that whoever built it could see, and be seen from, much of the surrounding landscape. That was almost certainly the point.

The site is oval in plan, roughly 30 metres east to west and 24 metres north to south, enclosed by a single bank of earth and stone that still stands around a metre tall and runs about four metres wide. An opening survives in the south-east. Ringforts, also called raths, were the standard form of enclosed farmstead in early medieval Ireland, typically dating from somewhere between the sixth and twelfth centuries, and several thousand of them are known across the country. What makes this example slightly more interesting than its basic form suggests is the apparent presence of a souterrain in the western portion of the enclosure. A souterrain is an underground stone-lined passage or chamber, usually associated with storage and sometimes with refuge, and their appearance within ringforts is not uncommon, though the Carrickhenry example appears to survive only as a partial remnant. Together, the raised position, the intact bank, the entrance orientation, and the hint of a subterranean structure give a reasonable picture of a small defended farmstead whose occupants were attentive to both the practical and the symbolic possibilities of their chosen ground.