 Within the topographical grouping of hill castles it is classified as a spur castle because it lies on the extreme end of a hill spur surrounded on three sides by the Zschopau that flows around the spur in a large bow.The rock on which the castle stands is separated from rising ground behind it by a man-made section of ditch, the so-called "Halsgraben".Typologically the Kriebstein is a combination of a tower castle ("Turmburg") and a ringwork castle ("Ringburg") with an oval ground plan.