The site measures 62 metres from east to west and 24 metres from north to south, with its most prominent feature being a steep scarp along the southern edge. This scarp, standing 2 metres high and stretching for 54 metres, would have formed a formidable defensive barrier in its day. The western side retains a short section of low earthen bank, roughly 20 metres long and 7.4 metres wide at its base, tapering to 2 metres at the top.

The eastern boundary still shows traces of a levelled bank running for 38 metres, whilst the northern edge has largely disappeared into the landscape, save for a small 4.5 metre section at the eastern end. What appears to be an original entrance, about 4 metres wide, cuts through the southern scarp near its eastern end, providing access to the gently undulating interior. These moated sites were typically built by Anglo-Norman settlers or wealthy Irish families during the 13th and 14th centuries, serving as fortified farmsteads that combined residential and agricultural functions.

Today, a track way runs roughly west-northwest to east-southeast about 5 metres south of the site, likely following an ancient route that connected this moated settlement to the wider medieval landscape. Though time has softened its edges and cattle now graze where medieval inhabitants once lived and worked, the earthworks at Mortlestown remain a tangible link to Ireland’s complex medieval past, when such fortified homesteads dotted the countryside.