These structures are found across Ireland in their hundreds, and they are consistently strange things to encounter. Dug into the earth and carefully constructed, they are thought to have served as places of refuge, cool storage for perishables, or both, their low passages designed to slow or discourage anyone forcing entry. The fact that one exists at Kilcolman is recorded; the details of its form, its dimensions, and its current condition are not presently available in any publicly accessible source.

Souterrains in Kerry are not uncommon. The county contains numerous examples, often associated with ringforts, those circular enclosed farmsteads that were the typical unit of rural settlement in early medieval Ireland, roughly between the sixth and twelfth centuries. A souterrain would typically be accessed through a narrow opening inside the ringfort's interior, leading down into one or more corbelled or lintelled chambers. Some Kerry examples are remarkably well preserved; others have partially collapsed or been built over in later centuries. Without more detailed documentation for this particular site, it is not possible to say which category Kilcolman's example falls into, or how much of it survives.