This rectangular earthwork measures 47 metres east to west and 44 metres north to south, with low banks around its perimeter that stand roughly 0.9 metres high on the interior and about 5 metres wide at their western section. The corners of the site are notably raised, creating a distinctive profile that would have been even more pronounced when first constructed centuries ago.

The site’s most striking feature is its external moat, which still encircles the raised platform despite centuries of weathering. This defensive ditch has a flat bottom and varies in depth; on the interior side it drops 2.5 to 2.9 metres, whilst the exterior depth reaches 1.8 metres. The moat spans 6 to 8 metres across at its top edge, and a small stream still feeds into it at the southeastern corner, maintaining the water flow that would have been essential for defence. Though now overgrown with vegetation, the earthworks remain clearly visible, preserving the footprint of what was likely a fortified farmstead or manor house.

These moated sites are characteristic of Anglo-Norman settlement patterns in medieval Ireland, typically dating from the 13th to 14th centuries. They served as defended homesteads for colonists who needed protection in what was often hostile territory. The Ballyhigh site, first documented by Barry in 1977 and later included in the Archaeological Inventory of County Wexford in 1996, represents one of many such structures scattered across the Irish countryside; silent witnesses to a time when even rural dwellings required substantial fortifications.