The houses thus have several impressive and innovative defensive features. For instance, the base of the exterior walls are situated five meters underground, to prevent attacks from subterranean enemy tunnel diggers.

The dwellings have thick wooden gates, often with iron sheeting or other precautionary structures. For example, the gate of Yanyi Wei, a notable structure in Yangcun village, has an ingenious water funnel on top - to extinguish flames set by enemy arsonists.

Another defensive feature is the strategic location of watchtowers, built at the four corners of the outer walls.

Wells were located both within the courtyard, and outside. The inner wells were used only at times when the house was besieged.

While the tulou in Yongding were most often built from packed earth, the weiwu in Longnan were constructed from more durable materials. The bases of the outer walls were made from sandstone and granite; the walls themselves were built from gray bricks and stones.

In the center of each weiwu complex sits an ancestral hall, and an open space for common use. The residential spaces are located in surrounding buildings.

Several small apartments are found on each floor. Rooms located one above another often belonged to a single family, and were linked by vertical passageways.

Apart from some modest alterations (for instance, converting some residential spaces to storage rooms), the original structures of the ancient farmhouses have not been modified.