This study investigated the spatial pattern evolution of the rural settlement system in the town of Menggang, China, based on settlement patches extracted from remote sensing data for four time points between 1990 and 2018. Five typical villages were selected to study their spatial textures from point to surface. The reasons for the evolution of the rural settlements were examined as well. The results indicated that the number of settlement patches in Menggang decreased, the area of a single patch expanded, and the scale of the rural settlements continued to expand. Settlements were distributed randomly, but an agglomeration trend began to appear. The plain terrain had little restriction on settlement site selection. Cofferdams and embankments were the limiting factors for settlement expansion, which led to the compact development of the settlements. Economic development, population growth, and family miniaturization were positive factors for the expansion of the rural settlements. In the typical villages, cluster settlements and cluster settlements with a banded tendency had higher spatial utilization efficiency. Several high-density building centers were formed in the settlements, and the trend of residential buildings was mainly northeast–southwest. The plain terrain had little effect on the orientation of buildings, single-building areas, or the public spaces of the settlements. Traditional culture and traffic routes affected the orientation of the main buildings of folk houses. This study has theoretical and reference value for the structure optimization and sustainable development of rural settlements in the lower Yellow River plain.

The impact of high-speed rail (HSR) on urban spatial structure has attracted much attention since the 1970s. It mainly realizes the change of urban spatial structure by affecting the spatial distribution of population and economy. Based on population and industry data on 29 cities in the Central Plains Urban Agglomeration (CPUA) located in central China during 2005–2017, in this paper difference-in-difference (DID) models are utilized to explore the influence of HSR on the spatial structure of prefecture-level cities at the single/multicenter levels according to the dimensions of polycentricity and dispersion. The main conclusions are shown as: (1) HSR on the spatial structure of the CPUA has a monocentric trend, but the characteristics of different prefecture-level cities vary. Currently, agglomeration remains the dominant force of the spatial structure of the CPUA in prefecture-level cities. (2) HSR have a noticeable effect on the spatial structure of industry, whereas the influences of the HSR on the spatial structure of the population are insignificant. Its development is the result of the combined effects of many factors, including natural factors, socioeconomic factors, policies, and transportation factors. Among the controlling factors, the administrative area, economic development level, urban population, and number of research units are the critical factors having a hold on the population spatial structure of the CPUA.