The site at Cloonaman consists of a roughly rectangular earthwork, measuring approximately 47 metres north to south and 52 metres east to west at its broadest points. The enclosing bank, built entirely from earth with no evidence of an outer defensive ditch, stands at its most impressive along the exterior where it reaches 1.5 metres in height. From inside the enclosure, the bank rises to a more modest 0.85 metres, with a base width of around 3 metres throughout its circuit.

Three gaps punctuate the earthen rampart, likely serving as the original entrances to this ancient site. The northwestern and southeastern corners each feature narrow breaks of about 2 metres width, whilst a more substantial 6-metre opening marks the southwestern corner. This larger gap may have functioned as the main entrance, though centuries of use and erosion make it difficult to determine with certainty. The absence of a fosse, or defensive ditch, sets this enclosure apart from many similar sites in Ireland; a feature noted as far back as 1909 when antiquarian Thomas Johnson Westropp documented what he described as a “square fort without a fosse” at Cloonaman.

The elevated position and substantial earthworks suggest this was once a defended settlement, perhaps dating to the early medieval period when such enclosures were common throughout Ireland. These sites, often called ringforts or raths, typically housed extended families and their livestock, serving as both farmsteads and symbols of status in the landscape. Today, the earthwork remains a subtle but significant feature of the Kerry countryside, its banks softened by time but still clearly visible to those who know where to look.