They sit only a few centimetres proud of the surface, aligned northeast to southwest, and a third stone lies nearly flat on the ground a metre away to the northeast, its dimensions of roughly 0.95 by 0.7 metres mostly swallowed by the bog. Nothing about the arrangement shouts for attention, which may be part of why stone rows like this one at Derrysallagh are so easy to miss, and so quietly compelling once noticed.

Stone rows, a prehistoric monument type found in some concentration across southwest Ireland and parts of Britain, typically consist of two or more standing stones set in a deliberate linear arrangement. Their purpose remains a matter of genuine debate among archaeologists, with proposed explanations ranging from astronomical alignment to territorial markers to focal points for ritual activity. The Derrysallagh example is catalogued by the archaeoastronomer Clive Ruggles in his 1999 survey of Cork and Kerry stone rows. The southwest stone is the taller of the two upright stones at 0.6 metres above the bog surface, and it narrows towards its southwestern end, giving it a slightly tapered profile. The northeast stone is smaller, subrectangular in plan, and the two stand just 0.9 metres apart where they protrude above the peat. The bog itself has crept up around them over the centuries, with the stones sunk to a depth of roughly 0.15 to 0.2 metres below the present surface. Around them, the landscape retains traces of a relict field system, faint boundaries in the rough pasture suggesting a much older pattern of land use that predates the bog's expansion.

The monument sits within rough pasture and bogland, and the partially buried prostrate stone to the northeast is easy to overlook underfoot. The bog surface makes for uneven going, and the low height of the uprights means the row is unlikely to catch the eye from any distance.