Mountainous areas are characterized by relative closure and vertical differentiation, and land use/land cover (LU/LC) are not continuous. There are few studies on the process of land use/land cover change (LUCC) at micro-scale in mountainous areas. In this study, two typical settlements (Jiashan and Jiuzi village) in the upper reaches of Minjiang River were selected to determine the range of accessibility and the maximum regional boundary of settlements based on the concept of ecological niche. Besides, through the method of remote sensing interpretation, transfer matrix, and dynamic index, the characteristics of micro scale LUCC in Jiashan and Jiuzi village from 1999 to 2014 were analyzed. During 1999 to 2014, the LU/LC of the two settlements changed drastically, among which the farmland area decreased significantly, while the ecological forest and fruit forest area increased significantly. In 2014, LU/LC types showed obvious characteristics of slope and vertical differentiation. The difference of hydrothermal conditions caused by the disparity of slope direction between the two settlements is the reasons for the variation in LU/LC distribution between the two settlements. From 1999 to 2014, the integrated dynamic index of LU/LC of Jiashan and Jiuzi village was 1.87% and 1.94%, respectively, indicating that the LU/LC in alpine settlements at the upper reaches of Minjiang River was changing rapidly. In addition, we should be aware of the potential risks of food security and highquality sustainable development of fruit forests, which could be caused by returning farmland to forests in mountainous settlements.