[Objective] To construct the regional wilderness network structure in different periods of Wenshan Prefecture, Yunnan Province, and reveal its spatiotemporal evolution characteristics. [Methods] We used wilderness mapping to analyze the wilderness landscape pattern in 2005, 2015, and 2025. Morphological spatial pattern analysis (MSPA) was employed to identify wilderness sources, the minimum cumulative resistance model (MCR) was used to calculate the resistance surface, and circuit theory was applied to extract wilderness corridors, pinch points, and barriers. [Results] From 2005 to 2025, the high-quality wilderness areas and wilderness sources in Wenshan Prefecture showed a phased change of 'first decline and then rise'. The area of high-quality wilderness decreased from 17,327.40 km2 to 14,393.89 km2 and then rose to 21,717.11 km2. The source area decreased from 4,737.96 km2 to 4,612.14 km2 and then increased to 6,330.15 km2. The network connectivity fluctuated synchronously with changes in the source area. The total corridor length decreased from 11,698.80 km to 6,532.42 km and then increased to 22,324.80 km. However, the area of barrier points continued to expand, increasing by 355.54 km2, indicating an expansion of high-resistance areas and a growing risk of connectivity degradation. [Conclusion] Overall, the wilderness network in Wenshan Prefecture exhibited a phased evolution of 'shrinking first and then recovering'. Ecological protection should adopt a hierarchical strategy of 'source priority, corridor maintenance, and bottleneck management': strictly protect core sources; prioritize the restoration of corridors with high connectivity potential; and implement focused rectification and control in areas where pinch points and barriers are concentrated to reduce the risk of corridor blockage and stabilize the regional connectivity pattern.