The public building at Sweet Lick Knob measured 42 feet north-south by 28 feet east-west and enclosed 1,176 square feet. An alignment of three large pits - where sacred poles had once stood - and two rectangular, well-defined hearths were in its center. Holes for the sacred poles measured 1.6 feet in diameter and extended 2.2 feet below the structure's floor. The southern hearth and southern pole pit appeared to have been capped with clay at the same time. This structure may have served as a place where people met periodically for social or ritual purposes.
It is worth noting that the Sweet Lick Knob site sits at the interface of two major physiographic zones. To the east, the most common contemporary sites are rockshelters. To the west, contemporary sites are large villages. Perhaps the Fort Ancient people who used the site spent at least part of the year traveling and hunting in the mountains to the east. Additionally, the Knob, so visible in this area, may have served as a beacon, drawing dispersed and different Fort Ancient groups together for ceremonies and other rituals.