It measures roughly ten metres long and fourteen metres wide, with an opening four metres across facing west, and a faint pathway running through its centre from east to west. The mound itself is built from burnt and heat-shattered stone, and it has been growing over with vegetation for a very long time. This is a fulacht fia, a type of prehistoric cooking or processing site found in considerable numbers across Ireland, typically dating from the Bronze Age. The name refers to a class of monument that usually consists of a trough dug into wet ground, a nearby water source, and a mound of fire-cracked stones discarded after repeated heating. The working principle was simple: stones were heated in a fire, dropped into a water-filled trough to bring it to the boil, and replaced as they cracked and became useless, which is why the surrounding mound accumulates over time.

The siting at Gortnalicky follows the pattern closely. Fulachtaí fia are almost always found near water, and this one has both a stream to the north and a spring to the east, providing the reliable water supply the process required. The horseshoe shape is characteristic of the type, as the open end typically faced away from the trough area. The internal pathway noted here is a less commonly remarked feature, suggesting some organised use of the space, though its precise function remains a matter of interpretation. The marshy ground would have helped maintain a consistent water level in any trough, making the location practically well chosen even if it looks, on the surface, like an unremarkable overgrown rise in a wet field.