The stone itself, roughly 0.9 metres high, oblong in plan, and oriented north to south, has the physical profile of a prehistoric standing stone. But its companions complicate matters considerably.

Four other stones stand ranged along both sides of the avenue that leads to the former mansion, and these are considered almost certainly ornamental features, placed there during the nineteenth century as part of the designed landscape of the demesne. The fashion for adorning country house grounds with megalith-like stones was not uncommon among the landed gentry of that period, lending an air of ancient drama to otherwise managed parkland. The boulder on the mound, however, occupies a different position entirely, set apart from that formal arrangement on a naturally elevated spot. That distinction is enough to leave open the possibility that it predates the castle and its ornamental conceits altogether. Paul Gosling, who compiled the Archaeological Inventory of County Galway in 1993, noted it as a possible genuine antiquity while stopping short of certainty. To complicate matters further, the stone was incorrectly plotted on the Record of Monuments and Places map as late as 1997, meaning its precise location was, for a time, officially misrepresented.

Clifden Castle itself is a roofless ruin on the western edge of the town of Clifden, accessible via a well-worn path through the former demesne. The avenue where the ornamental stones stand is still visible, and the contrast between those evenly spaced, suspiciously tidy boulders and the lone stone on its mound is something a careful visitor will notice without being told what to look for.