The site contains 9 architectural groups in the site; in the periphery there are 30 groups with 122 mapped structures. The groups in the site core include a ceremonial group and three groups that could be elite residencial complexes. The site lacks a Mesoamerican ballcourt. A large enclosure within the ceremonial group may have been dedicated to the cultivation of a high-value crop such as cacao although this has not been confirmed. Although the site was occupied during the Preclassic period, the majority of the architecture is believed to date to the Late Classic. The ceremonial city of the centre, in spite of the simplicity of its layout, possesses traits that distinguish it as an important regional site. Among these traits the most unusual is the presence of an E-Group complex, the only such complex in the entire Dolores region. Ixtutz has stylistic similarities with Machaquila in southwest Petén.