When archaeologist Seán P. Ó Riordáin documented this site in 1934, he recorded its dimensions as 31 yards by 35 yards, noting the rectangular shape that distinguished it from the more common circular ringforts found throughout Ireland. Today, the enclosure has been largely levelled by centuries of agricultural activity, but careful observation reveals slight rises in the ground to the east and west that likely mark where the defensive banks once stood.

This type of enclosed settlement, known locally as a lios or ráth, would have been home to a farming family during the Early Medieval period, roughly between the 6th and 12th centuries. The rectangular plan is somewhat unusual for these sites in Cork, as most ringforts in the region are circular or oval. The choice of an east-facing slope for the location would have provided both good drainage and protection from the prevailing south-westerly winds, whilst offering views across the surrounding countryside; practical considerations that mattered greatly to those who built and lived within these earthen walls.

Archaeological surveys continue to reveal new details about sites like this one, contributing to our understanding of how people lived and farmed in medieval Ireland. The Archaeological Inventory of County Cork, first published in 1992 and updated regularly since, documents hundreds of similar sites across West Cork alone, each one a testament to the dense network of rural settlements that once dotted the Irish landscape. Though now reduced to subtle earthworks in a field, this Kilmore site represents a direct link to the families who shaped this land over a thousand years ago.