It is subrectangular in plan, meaning its cross-section is roughly rectangular with softened edges rather than a precise geometric form, and its long axis runs west-northwest to east-southeast. At the base, packing stones are still visible where they were wedged in to stabilise the monolith when it was first set upright, a small but telling detail that brings the original act of erection unexpectedly close.

Standing stones of this kind are among the most common and least understood prehistoric monument types in Ireland. They appear across the landscape without obvious pattern, and their original purpose remains genuinely unclear. Some may have marked boundaries, trackways, or burial sites; others may have had astronomical or ritual functions, or served as gathering points in a largely unrecorded social world. What can be said of the Leadawillin stone is that its orientation, running roughly west-northwest to east-southeast, places it within a tradition of deliberate alignment that recurs across many such monuments, though what exactly was being aligned with, whether a sunrise, a sunset, a ridgeline, or something else entirely, is not recorded. The packing stones at its base are a rare surviving glimpse of the practical work involved in raising it, the careful wedging and filling that has kept it standing through however many centuries have passed since.