The site at Knockane is a rath, the most common type of early medieval enclosure in Ireland, typically formed by a raised earthen or stone bank encircling a domestic farmstead. What makes this one worth pausing over is the sheer persistence of its form: despite centuries of agricultural use and encroaching vegetation, the enclosing bank remains largely intact around most of its circuit.

The ringfort measures roughly 40.8 metres across on its east-west axis, making it a substantial example of its type. The bank itself, built from very stony material, runs between two and nearly three metres wide at its base, narrowing to a two-metre crest. Its height varies noticeably depending on whether you are standing inside or outside the enclosure, and whether you are on the upslope or downslope side, ranging from under half a metre internally on the higher ground to just over a metre externally on the lower. A possible entrance gap of around 2.4 metres survives in the eastern quadrant, which is a common orientation for such openings in Irish ringforts, thought by some researchers to relate to the direction of sunrise or simply to practical access across the surrounding landscape. The south-eastern quadrant has been the most eroded, its bank reduced to little more than a low scarp, and the southern side is now heavily overgrown with brambles and scrub, which obscures the full extent of the monument and makes the north-south diameter impossible to measure accurately.