The site appears as a slightly elevated platform measuring approximately 10 metres from southwest to northeast and 30 metres from northwest to southeast, positioned strategically at the end of a ridge that runs southwest to northeast. Though time and agriculture have softened its contours, this gentle mound still holds the memory of what early Ordnance Survey mapmakers in the 19th century confidently marked as a 'Fort' on their meticulously detailed six-inch maps.

Ringforts, known locally as 'ráth' or 'lios', were the farmsteads of prosperous farmers during Ireland's early medieval period, roughly from 500 to 1200 AD. These circular or oval enclosures, defined by earthen banks and ditches, served both practical and defensive purposes; they protected livestock from wolves and raiders whilst proclaiming the status of their inhabitants. The Lismontigley example appears to have been a single-ringed fort, meaning it had one encircling bank and ditch rather than the multiple rings that marked higher-status sites.

Today, this ancient homestead requires a keen eye to spot, its once-prominent banks now reduced to that modest raised area in the field. Like thousands of similar sites across Ireland, it represents a direct link to the people who farmed this land over a millennium ago, when Gaelic lords ruled Donegal and these ringforts formed the backbone of rural settlement patterns. The site was documented as part of the comprehensive Archaeological Survey of County Donegal in 1983, ensuring that even as its physical presence fades into the landscape, its place in the county's archaeological record remains secure.