Site selection adaptability of traditional villages along rivers can be summarized as the local ecological wisdom accumulated and preserved by generations of villagers. The site selection and distribution pattern of traditional villages is closely related to the river. In this research, 97 traditional villages along the Yellow River in Shanxi and Shaanxi were selected as the research objects. Kernel density analysis, Area density analysis, River buffer zone and a self‐designed river location function (RLF) were used to explore, calculate, and evaluate the spatial distribution and site selection adaptation mechanism of traditional villages along the Yellow River. Most traditional villages are located within 15 km buffer area. Villages are densely distributed in one high‐density aggregation area and one middle‐density aggregation area. The aggregation areas also represent a highest area density of river. The results of RLF show that there are six villages with a value between 1.8 and 2.2, which is consistent with the results of kernel density and river buffer zone analyses. It is concluded that site selection adaptation factors are composed of area density of river, distance from river, river width and bank form. At the same time, it is found that traditional villages are clustered on convex banks, which reflects the scientific value of ancient Chinese feng shuitheory. Our findings improve the understanding of the overall environment and pattern of traditional villages, provide a quantitative basis for the study of site selection adaptability, and offer operational technical guidance for current and future efforts for village renewal, planning, and construction.