It is a souterrain, a type of artificial underground chamber or tunnel constructed during the early medieval period in Ireland, typically from around the seventh to the twelfth century. Built from dry-stone walling and roofed with large lintels, souterrains were associated with nearby settlements and are thought to have served as places of refuge, cold storage, or concealment. Thousands have been recorded across Ireland, yet individually they remain among the least celebrated of the country's early medieval monuments.

The Skevanish example is recorded as a known archaeological monument, but detailed information about its precise construction, condition, or any associated finds has not yet been made publicly available. Without excavation records or survey descriptions in circulation, the specifics of this particular passage, its dimensions, its state of preservation, how it was originally discovered, remain unconfirmed. What can be said is that souterrains in Cork tend to cluster in areas of early agricultural settlement, and the presence of one at Skevanish points to the likelihood of sustained human activity in the vicinity during the early medieval centuries, even if no surface trace of a contemporary settlement now survives.