The site occupies a strategic position in the valley where two streams meet; one flowing west to east, the other southwest to northeast. What was once a circular enclosed area has been reshaped over the centuries into a D-shaped platform, measuring roughly 35 metres east to west and 30 metres north to south. Natural erosion from the stream along its southern edge and generations of field clearance on the western side have altered its original form.

The site’s most striking feature is its substantial moat, which would have served as both a defensive barrier and a status symbol for its medieval inhabitants. At the eastern section, this flat-bottomed ditch spans 7.5 metres across at the top, narrowing to 3.5 metres at its base, with depths reaching 2.4 metres on the inner side and 1.8 metres on the outer. The excavated earth was used to create protective banks; an inner rampart about 2.5 metres wide and 0.8 metres high, and traces of an outer bank of similar width but lower height, around 0.5 metres. A 6-metre-wide causeway provides access from the northeast, though this entrance is likely a more recent addition rather than part of the original medieval design.

These moated sites, common throughout the Irish countryside, typically date from the 13th and 14th centuries when Anglo-Norman settlers established fortified farmsteads across their newly acquired lands. Today, nature has reclaimed much of Forrestalstown’s moated site, with vegetation obscuring many of its features, yet the earthworks remain clearly visible, preserving the footprint of this medieval homestead for future generations to discover.