What distinguishes the San Miguel Arcangel Church is the high artistic quality and symbolism of its masonry. Its facade is a horizontal rectangle topped by a triangular pediment and divided into nine panels, a style that can be found only in five of over 160 documented Augustinian churches and all of them built along the southeastern coast of Cebu.
One example of a unique feature in the Argao Church facade is the four pairs of half columns that run up to the pediment and divide the facade into three panels. Depicted on the two outer pedestals are Chinese-inspired lions sitting on their hind legs, with a ball in each of their paws.
Rich and elaborate ornamentation can be seen in the shallow carvings on the front exterior wall: birds with heads down and wings spread out protectively over their young, Corinthian capitals embellished with floral motifs, atlante-angel carvings that appear to carry the paired half-columns running up to the pediment, a stylized peacock sitting atop an orb, and sequence of carvings of angels, fruits of the ivy, and a little snake running down the columns.