These underground passages, common throughout Iron Age and early medieval Ireland, served various purposes; from storage chambers to places of refuge during raids. The Listannagh souterrain was positioned on a subtle platform along a sloping hillside facing south, a location that would have provided its users with commanding views across the surrounding countryside.

While nothing remains visible today, early reports from the National Monuments Service documented its existence before it disappeared, likely collapsed or filled in over the centuries. The choice of location was far from random; the good quality agricultural land surrounding the site suggests this was part of a prosperous settlement, where farmers would have needed secure storage for grain and valuables. Souterrains were typically accessed through stone-lined passages leading to one or more chambers, engineered with remarkable skill to remain structurally sound for generations.

The loss of this monument represents a familiar story across rural Ireland, where countless archaeological features have been erased through agricultural improvement, natural degradation, or simple neglect. What survives now is only the memory preserved in survey records, compiled during the comprehensive Archaeological Survey of County Donegal conducted in the early 1980s. These documents serve as vital testimony to a hidden landscape of ancient monuments that once dotted the Irish countryside, many now existing only as entries in archaeological inventories.