This strategic position, commanding views over two waterways, made it an ideal defensive location when William de Scurlog, a tenant of the powerful Anglo-Norman lord Hugh de Lacy, constructed his fortification here in the late 12th century. De Scurlog left his mark on the landscape in more ways than one; the townland still bears his name today.

The motte itself is an oval, flat-topped earthwork mound, now covered in grass with a scattering of trees. Its base measures 30 metres from north to south, whilst the summit platform is considerably smaller at 9 metres north to south and just 4.5 metres east to west. The height varies quite dramatically around the structure, rising from 1.6 metres on the western side to nearly 7 metres at its northern edge, suggesting either deliberate design to maximise the natural topography or later erosion and modification. These earth and timber castles were the first fortifications built by the Anglo-Normans as they established control over newly conquered territories, serving as both military strongholds and administrative centres.

About 120 metres to the south, at the opposite end of the ridge, stands the parish church of Scurlockstown, creating a medieval complex that would have dominated the local landscape for centuries. Together, these structures tell the story of Norman colonisation in County Meath, when foreign lords carved out new estates from Irish lands and imposed their military, religious and social order on the existing population.