This study selects 413 national-level traditional villages in Jiangxi Province as research objects. Based on the ArcGIS 10.8 software and combined with mathematical statistics methods, it conducts an in-depth investigation into the spatial distribution pattern of traditional villages and their influencing factors. The research results show that the overall spatial characteristics of traditional villages in Jiangxi Province present a “scattered but clustered” feature, distributed in strip or point patterns along plain areas. Notably, traditional villages in Ji’an City and Fuzhou City exhibit obvious agglomeration phenomena. According to the analysis data, approximately 82.8% of village locations have significant riparian characteristics, reflecting the ancestors’ survival wisdom of “choosing water to settle.” Further analysis reveals that topography and hydrological environment serve as the physical basis constraining village location selection, while diverse cultures such as Huizhou culture, Linchuan culture, Luling culture, and Hakka culture deeply shape the spatial layout of villages. Furthermore, cultural factors and hydrological factors interactively act together to constitute the key composite driving mechanism influencing the spatial layout of traditional villages in Jiangxi Province.