It measures fifteen metres wide, fourteen metres long, and stands about a metre high, with an opening of five metres facing north-west. That opening, and the proximity to running water, are both characteristic of a fulacht fia, a type of prehistoric cooking site found in considerable numbers across Ireland. The typical interpretation is that stones were heated in a fire, then dropped into a water-filled trough to bring it to the boil, with the cracked and discarded stone gradually accumulating into the distinctive mound that survives today. The burnt, shattered material is what gives the mound its dark, loose texture, and what makes these sites so recognisable once you know what you are looking at.

What makes this particular example quietly notable is that it does not stand alone. It belongs to a cluster of four fulachta fiadh in the same area, suggesting that this stretch of ground beside the stream saw repeated or prolonged use in prehistory. Drainage works carried out relatively recently removed the sod from the mound, leaving the burnt material more exposed than it might otherwise be. Whether that exposure has helped or hindered the site's long-term preservation is an open question. These features are extremely common in Cork, and in Munster generally, yet their precise function continues to be debated; brewing, bathing, and textile processing have all been proposed alongside the cooking hypothesis.