Objective This study aims to explore the spatial patterns of public service accessibility and network linkage characteristics of rural settlements in karst mountainous areas, identify their zoning typology, and construct synergistic optimization pathways, thereby providing theoretical support for settlement spatial governance and rural revitalization. Methods Taking Qixingguan District as an empirical case, this study developed a “facility-network-space” analytical framework by integrating accessibility evaluation, gravity modeling, and social network analysis (SNA) to measure the public service accessibility of rural settlements and analyze their network structural characteristics. Results (1) Public service accessibility exhibited a decreasing “core-periphery” gradient pattern and extended in a belt-like form along transportation corridors. Township nodes formed secondary high-value zones, while low-value zones were concentrated in the western mountainous areas and northeastern townships, with differentiated constraints across facility types. (2) The network linkages exhibited a “loose overall, clustered locally” structure with small-world characteristics. Node hierarchy was distinct. High-strength nodes were concentrated in urban and suburban areas, forming the radiation core of the network. Medium-strength nodes along trunk lines undertook transmission functions, and network linkages in peripheral mountainous areas remained relatively sparse. (3) By integrating public service accessibility with network structural characteristics, rural settlements were categorized into five spatial units: suburban integration, clustered enhancement, potential cultivation, general retention, and rectification and improvement. Accordingly, a zoning-based synergistic optimization pathway of “growth pole leading–corridor transmission-node cultivation-bottom-line control” was proposed. Conclusion Public service accessibility and network linkages of rural settlements in karst mountainous areas both exhibit significant spatial differentiation. Their combined characteristics determine the zoning typology and corresponding synergistic optimization directions, while differences among settlement types in accessibility levels and network positions constitute the core basis for formulating differentiated zoning synergistic optimization strategies.
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