Defended hilltop; cairn; lookout. This prominent summit is naturally defended by cliffs and steep slopes to the north-east and south-east, and to west and north by an artificial bank. There are signs of a possible entrance at the most westerly point, but it is not entirely clear whether these features represent a truly defended site.


Similarly, the cairn on the summit, which is substantial and more than 10m in diameter, could be funerary or no more than a landmark.


The Castle Rushen Papers contain a document dated 1627 which lists the 'hills of the day watch and the ports of the night watch', from which a watch system was kept around the coastline of the Island from Medieval times: Maughold Head was the point from which a daytime watch was maintained until at least the 17th century.