As a representative of the “ultimate model of small gardens” among Suzhou classical gardens, the Master-of-Nets Garden has a history of over eight hundred years. During this period, it changed hands seven times, with eight diff erent owners managing it in turn. In the historical evolution of its garden architecture, there have been quite rich spatial changes. Based on the historical context of the Master-of-Nets Garden, this paper sorts and analyzes key information from relevant historical documents, literati’s garden records, inscriptions, and paintings. From the establishment of the basic spatial layout of the garden as the “Fishing Retreat” during the period of Shi Zhengzhi to the stable improvement of the garden buildings during the periods of Song Zongyuan, Qu Yuancun, and Li Hongyi, it conducts an in-depth analysis of the dynamic evolution processes such as the functional transformation, layout changes, and replacement and reorganization of the buildings in the garden at each stage. It summarizes the restored plans of the planar layout of the Master-of-Nets Garden in diff erent periods, including textual research on the Twelve Scenery Poems by Song Zongyuan and the Eight Scenes of the Qu Garden, aiming to reproduce the evolution trajectory of its historical spatial form. This research provides a clearer, evidence-based spatiotemporal framework for the construction history of the Master-of-Nets Garden. Taking the dynamic evolution of architectural space as the entry point, it deepens understanding of the literati’s concept of garden living in the private gardens of the Jiangnan region and provides supplements and clarifi cations to research on the history of classical gardens.