Where most standing stones are flat slabs set with their broad face visible from a distance, this one is almost square in plan, measuring roughly 34 by 39 centimetres across. It sits in pasture, oriented with its long axis running northwest to southeast, a alignment that may or may not be coincidental given how frequently prehistoric monuments in Ireland are positioned in relation to solar or lunar events, though nothing in the record here confirms deliberate astronomical intent.

Standing stones of this kind are among the most common prehistoric monument types in County Cork, yet individually they remain poorly understood. They were erected across a broad sweep of prehistory, with many dating to the Bronze Age, and their purposes are thought to have ranged from territorial markers to ritual focal points to grave indicators. What makes the Baltydaniel example of particular note is that a second standing stone sits roughly 100 metres to the north, which raises the possibility that the two were related in some way, perhaps forming a loose pair or forming part of a broader arrangement in the landscape. Paired or closely associated standing stones are known elsewhere in Cork and across Munster, sometimes interpreted as route markers or as framing devices for distant landscape features.