Measuring 45 metres in length, nearly 18 metres wide, and rising about a metre from the surrounding ground, it is composed almost entirely of burnt material, its opening oriented towards the south-southwest. The size alone sets it apart; this is not a minor scatter of scorched stone but a substantial accumulation built up over repeated use across what may have been centuries.

A fulacht fia is a type of Bronze Age cooking site found in enormous numbers across Ireland, typically positioned beside a water source. The standard interpretation holds that a trough, usually timber-lined or cut into the ground, would be filled with water and heated by dropping fire-cracked stones into it until the water boiled. The shattered, blackened stones were then raked out and discarded, and over time these deposits built up into the distinctive mounds we see today. The proximity to a stream at Dawstown fits this pattern precisely; running water was not incidental but central to the whole process. Some researchers have proposed alternative uses for fulachtaí fia, including brewing, hide preparation, or bathing, though cooking remains the most widely accepted explanation. The kidney shape of the Dawstown mound, with its open end facing outward, is also typical of the form, thought to reflect the position of the trough at the centre of the working area.