Abstract:As an important part of the defense system of the Great Wall in the Ming Dynasty, the distribution pattern of military settlements such as towns, garrisons and fortresses reflects the overall operation mechanism of the defense system of the Great Wall. Therefore, the study from the military perspective will contribute to deepen the value cognition of the Great Wall cultural heritage. Starting from the military settlement reinforcement system, the military settlement forces, distribution, roads and other factors are sorted out by the methods of historical data inquiry, field investigation, mathematical analysis and so on and the relevant elements could be located by GIS spatial analysis, so as to explore the force distribution and reinforcement efficiency of settlements in different levels, and to analyze the distribution pattern of military settlements in the Great Wall defense system. The research shows that the defense system of settlement distribution pattern is a circle structure with orderly command. The defense unit is a network structure of mutual defense. The defense pattern shows an echelon structure of efficient support.