First clearly identified in an aerial photograph from 1963, this oval fortification stretches approximately 370 metres from northwest to southeast and 200 metres from northeast to southwest, encompassing about 6.3 hectares of the hilltop. The fort’s defining feature is a low, broad bank of stones, now grassed over and barely rising more than half a metre in most places, which girdles the upper portion of the hill. This ancient defensive work has been so thoroughly absorbed into the landscape that parts of it were later repurposed as a townland boundary wall between Dunmurry West and Guidenstown South.

Within this expansive enclosure, several intriguing features hint at the site’s prehistoric past. A smaller enclosure sits on the hill’s actual summit, accompanied by what appears to be a cairn or mound just to its east. Further down the southeastern slope, two possible hut sites suggest where the hillfort’s inhabitants might have made their homes. The panoramic views from this elevated position would have provided excellent surveillance of the surrounding countryside, making it an ideal defensive location for an ancient community. Today, much of the interior remains under pasture, dotted with patches of scrub and gorse, though modern intrusions include a telecommunications compound in the northwestern sector and a service road that runs along the southwestern edge.

Despite its historical significance as documented in the Atlas of Hillforts of Britain and Ireland, Dunmurry Hill has yet to undergo formal archaeological investigation. The site’s poor preservation means visitors need imagination to envision the substantial fortification that once stood here, but the remaining earthworks still trace the outline of what was clearly an important Iron Age or Bronze Age settlement. The fort’s reuse as a townland boundary demonstrates how ancient monuments continue to shape the Irish landscape long after their original purpose has been forgotten, with medieval and modern communities unconsciously following patterns established by their prehistoric predecessors.