This rugged landscape, measuring roughly 700 metres north to south and varying between 50 and 220 metres east to west, represents the highest point of the island and contains evidence of human activity spanning centuries. The area’s natural defences are immediately apparent; a narrow 40-metre-wide isthmus forms a natural ditch leading to the southern section, where the grass-covered remains of a stone wall, approximately 40 metres long and 2 metres wide, still stand. Historical records from the 1654-56 Civil Survey mention a ‘Little Castle’ here, and whilst John O’Donovan described a square castle of lime and stone in 1835, no visible traces of this structure remain today.

Moving eastward across the peninsula, the landscape reveals an intricate defensive system that speaks to the strategic importance of this location. About 80 metres from the entrance, a 105-metre-long earthen and stone bank runs northwest to southeast from the cliff edge, accompanied by a fosse on its southwestern side. Beyond this initial defence, the terrain is dotted with various enclosures and structures; square enclosures built against the linear bank, mysterious lines of water-rolled beach stones forming geometric patterns, and what appear to be ancient hut sites with walls constructed from upright stones filled with rubble. Further north, where the peninsula narrows to another 50-metre-wide isthmus, stands the impressive fortification known locally as ‘Balor’s Fort’, consisting of four massive earthen banks with three intervening ditches, rising successively with the natural slope and showing evidence of stone revetment on the innermost bank.

The most intriguing features lie within these formidable defences, where at least twenty ‘hut circles’ are scattered across a south-facing slope that benefits from natural protection against the harsh Atlantic weather. These structures, mostly circular or oval in plan with maximum dimensions of about 10 metres, consist of substantial earthen and stone banks up to 3 metres wide. Three of these sites bear the romantic local name ‘Diarmuid and Grania’s’, though they appear as simple circular depressions rather than built structures. Near one of the hut circles, a rock-cut well provides evidence of the practical considerations of those who once inhabited this windswept promontory. To the east, the peninsula extends into a blade-edge tower of rock called Tor-more, virtually inaccessible except for a small level area protected by yet another rock-cut fosse. Despite extensive archaeological investigation, including partial excavation of one hut circle in 1949, no local tradition survives to explain the exact purpose of these structures, leaving them as enigmatic reminders of Tory Island’s strategic importance in Ireland’s ancient past.