This evocative name, recorded by historian Carrigan in 1905, perfectly captures the monument’s dramatic setting; the ridge terminates in a sheer 10-metre rock face that towers above the confluence of the River Nore and the Dinin river. Today, conifers and scrub vegetation partially obscure the site, but visitors who make the effort to explore it are rewarded with spectacular views stretching in every direction.

The fortification consists of an oval enclosure measuring approximately 48 metres northwest to southeast and 35 metres northeast to southwest. Its builders cleverly incorporated the natural landscape into their defensive design, using the precipitous northern cliff edge as a natural barrier that eliminated the need for man-made fortifications on that side. The remaining perimeter, from east through south to west, features an impressive triple defence system: an inner bank standing 7 metres wide and rising 1.2 metres on the interior side whilst dropping 6 metres on the exterior; a fosse or defensive ditch measuring 4.5 metres wide and 1.6 metres deep; and an outer bank 5 metres wide and 1.2 metres high. A single 2-metre-wide entrance breaks through these defences in the southwestern sector.

The sophisticated defensive architecture suggests this may be a ringwork rather than a typical ringfort, indicating it could date to the Anglo-Norman period rather than earlier Irish construction. Ringworks were earthwork castles introduced by the Normans in the late 12th century, often built to control strategic locations like river crossings. The Rock’s commanding position above the confluence of two rivers would have made it an ideal location for monitoring and controlling movement through this part of medieval Kilkenny, whether for military purposes or to extract tolls from travellers and traders using the waterways below.