The vast majority of such pairs are oriented along a broadly NE-SW or E-W axis, a pattern so consistent across the country that it is generally assumed to reflect some deliberate astronomical or ceremonial intention, possibly tracking solar or lunar events at the horizon. These two stones quietly deviate from that norm, which makes them either an outlier worth noting or a reminder that prehistoric monument-builders did not always follow a single rule.

The pair sit in an east-west hollow to the north-west of Knocknahulla's summit, a placement that tucks them into the landscape rather than displaying them on a ridge or skyline. Together they span 4.8 metres from end to end. The more northerly stone is the taller of the two, standing 1.2 metres high with a face measuring roughly 0.65 by 0.22 metres; it leans slightly southward, as upright stones on sloping or soft ground often do over millennia. Its companion to the south-south-east is somewhat shorter at 0.96 metres, though slightly broader in one dimension at 0.85 metres. The gap between them is 3.2 metres. No date is recorded for their erection, but paired standing stones in Ireland are generally associated with the Bronze Age, roughly 2500 to 500 BC.