[Objective]In order to explore the morphological characteristics and spatial evolution patterns of rural settlements in the rocky desertification area of the Peak Tree Depression, it is of great significance for the optimisation of the spatial layout of the rural settlements and the promotion of the urban-rural integration and sustainable development.[Methods] Based on the PLUS model, we predicted the distribution of rural settlements under the economic development scenario, natural development scenario and ecological protection scenario in 2035, identified the morphological features of rural settlements using the morphological spatial analysis (MSPA) method, and adopted the landscape pattern index, landscape integrated dynamic attitude and Ripley"s K-function method to realise the analysis of the morphological features and spatial evolution patterns of rural settlements in the past-now-future. The morphological characteristics and spatial evolution patterns of rural settlements in the past, present and future were analysed. [Results] (1) The area of rural settlements showed an upward trend from 1990 to 2022, with an increase of 6.09km_² in area and an increase in the number from 366 to 1253. The core and the edge are the dominant rural settlement types in the study area, with an increase in their areas of 1.90km₂ ^{and 1.51km₂} respectively, which are mainly located in the central part of the study area, and the islands and branches are mainly located in the northern and northeastern parts of the study area. distributed in the northern and north-eastern parts of the study area and their areas increased by 1.07km₂^{and 1.15km₂} respectively.(2) The complexity, richness and fragmentation of rural settlement types show an overall increasing trend; the development of rural settlement types is the most gentle in 1990-2000, and the development is the most drastic in 2010-2022, and the expansion of rural settlement types mainly occurs in Xingjie and Laojie villages and the surrounding areas; rural settlement types show a tendency of agglomeration in the study scale. The rural settlement types show a tendency of agglomeration in the study scale, and with the increase of the spatial scale, the aggregation characteristics of the spatial distribution of rural settlements are weakened and the spatial scale of the urbanisation process is narrowed.(3) Under all three scenarios, the area of rural settlements shows an upward trend, and its area is 11.42km₂^{, 7.68km}₂ ^{and 9.14km₂} respectively; the core is the absolutely dominant type in the study area, and its area increases by 4.02km₂^{, 2.60km}₂ ^{and 3.14km₂} respectively, and the types of rural settlements show a clustered distribution on the spatial scale, and the ecological protection scenario will inhibit the rural The ecological protection scenario will inhibit the expansion of rural settlements.[Conclusion] Rural settlements in the study area are in the stage of rapid development, and the expansion of rural settlements is mainly manifested in the core expansion, while the expansion of isolated islands is exacerbating the complexity of the spatial distribution of rural settlements, and the process of urbanisation has gradually aggregated rural settlements in a smaller spatial scale.