This is a rath, the most common form of early medieval settlement monument in Ireland, typically a farmstead enclosed by one or more earthen banks thrown up during the first millennium AD. What sets this one apart from a distance is the view it commands: the surrounding landscape opens up in all directions, suggesting that whoever chose this spot understood the value of a broad sightline.

The rath is univallate, meaning it is defined by a single enclosing bank rather than the multiple concentric rings found at more elaborate sites. That bank is still impressively intact in places, rising to 2.5 metres on its outer face, with a base width averaging around 7 metres. The inner face is lower, between 0.6 and 1.8 metres, partly because the enclosed interior itself sits at a higher elevation than the ground outside, amplifying the effective height of the structure. The internal diameter measures 28 metres. Several gaps in the bank have been worn through by cattle over the years, but a more deliberate-looking opening of about 4 metres on the south-eastern side is thought to be the original entrance. These details were recorded by C. Toal in the North Kerry Archaeological Survey, published in 1995.