It measures 2.3 metres in height, with a base roughly 85 by 75 centimetres, and its long axis is oriented east-north-east to west-south-west. That alignment is not accidental. Standing stones across Ireland frequently follow astronomical or landscape orientations, and while the precise intentions of their builders remain a matter of debate, the care taken in their placement is rarely in doubt.

Standing stones of this kind are among the most common prehistoric monuments in the Irish landscape, yet individually they remain poorly understood. Most are thought to date from the Bronze Age, though some may be earlier or later, and their functions were likely varied, ranging from territorial markers to sites of ritual significance. The Derryduff example, a single unworked or minimally worked upright block, fits a type found throughout County Cork, a county that has an unusually dense concentration of such monuments. Its position atop a hillock would have made it visible across a wide area, which may well have been part of the point.