<p>Extreme disasters often reveal ancestral ecological wisdom, which respects environmental complexity in seeking sound solutions. In 2022, a once in 70-year rainfall event highlighted the ecological wisdom of traditional village sites and building practices in Guangxi’s fengcong-depression karst area, China, a limestone region characterized by peak clusters and lacking permanent surface water. A stark contrast was observed: in Anhan village, newly built houses were flooded severely, while traditional dwellings remained unaffected. This pattern, common across fengcong-depression karst villages, prompted two questions: (1) Why were older sections resilient, and what ecological wisdom in site selection, adaptive management, and building technology enabled this? (2) What lessons can inform future rural design? Field surveys in 36 villages revealed that the ecological wisdom for water coexistence manifests in three key aspects. First, traditional sites were chosen away from floods and near groundwater; newly built sections in 30 of 36 villages ignored this logic, locating within drainage paths. Second, adaptive management historically involved pre‑flood season clearance of drainage paths and sinkholes to reduce water retention—a practice now discontinued. Third, traditional dwellings (rammed‑earth houses with stone stem walls and stilt houses) were built above orally recorded highest flood levels. Understanding and reviving this wisdom can enhance the resilience of new village developments and mitigate extreme flood risks.</p>