Traditional settlements in the Beijing Western Hills are located at the intersection of the capital’s urban space, the ecological space of the western mountainous area, and the cultural network formed by the Yongding River and the ancient routes of western Beijing. Multiple external pressures have resulted in pronounced regional differentiation and conflicts in governance across administrative boundaries during the conservation and development of these settlements. Taking 221 traditional settlements in the Beijing Western Hills as the research objects, this study draws on policy and planning documents, literature on traditional settlements, and existing field investigation findings to construct an analytical framework of “external pressures-regional system imbalance-governance dilemmas-collaborative responses.” The results show that urban functional spillover, ecological and cultural regulation, population mobility, and tourism intervention interact differently with locational conditions, corridor connections, ecological constraints, and community foundations. Consequently, settlements in the piedmont areas near the city face conflicts between renewal and conservation; settlements along river valleys and ancient routes experience mismatches between cultural networks and administrative boundaries; and settlements in remote mountainous areas confront tensions between ecological conservation and the maintenance of everyday living functions. Fragmented identification of regional values, concentration of resources in key nodes, the disconnection of externally introduced functions from residents’ daily lives, and insufficient feedback throughout the governance process further generate a transmission chain characterized by “factor fragmentation-boundary mismatch-corridor disruption-functional imbalance-feedback failure.” Accordingly, this study proposes the joint identification of regional values, the establishment of a governance framework consisting of three levels, namely “region-corridor-settlement,” differentiated mechanisms for functional access, and arrangements for sharing conservation benefits. Consultation among multiple stakeholders and dynamic evaluation should be incorporated throughout the processes of planning, construction, operation, and maintenance, thereby facilitating a transition from the conservation of individual settlements through separate projects to collaborative governance at the regional system level.