Grianán Ailigh, or the Grianán (sun house) of Aileach is a reconstructed hilltop ringfort which was the seat of King Aileach. It holds commanding views of Lough Swilly to the west, Inishowen to the north, Lough Foyle to the east and Glenfinn to the south. Cenél nEógain took control of the fort in 789 AD after the battle of Cloítech and it became the seat of the O'Neills. It is believed that the O'Neills occupied the fort until the mid 11th century. The Annals record its destruction in 1101 by Murtagh O'Brien, King of Munster. It was the end of the era of the ringfort. Increasingly, the landscape came to be fortified with Norman castles.

The reconstruction of the Grianán was carried out by Dr Walter Bernard in 1878. He found much of the original structure intact beneath the rubble from sections of the upper walls.
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Ráth Mealtain, or the Fort of Mealtain has been a human settlement since the stone age, but it did not become a town until 1610. A Scotsman named William Stewart was awarded 1000 acres during the Plantation of Ulster, wherupon he built a fort and church and brought in Scottish families to settle the land.
Ramelton developed a prosperous trade in linen and many of the original Plantation houses gave way to an elegant Georgian Mall.

Ramelton today is a well preserved example of a Plantation town. Alongside the charming Georgian buildings many of the original Plantation structures survive, including William Stewarts Reformation Church.

Ramelton is officially designated as a Heritage Town.
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