Potassium salt is one of the long- term scarce mineral resources in China, with an external dependency on potassium fertilizer ranging from 30% to 45%. Modern salt lakes have limited potassium salt reserves, and years of mining have led to a sharp decrease in resources. Therefore, exploring the mineralization of potassium salt in ancient deep salt basins is crucial. Understanding the deformation mechanism and characteristics of salt structures and revealing the deformation, migration, accumulation, and preservation laws of salt bodies under different tectonic environments is of great significance for discovering new potassium salt deposits in China. This article provides an overview of the physical properties of rock salt and the driving forces behind salt structure formation. By combining structural physics simulations and seismic interpretation, the deformation mechanisms of salt structures are analyzed, and the migration law of rock salt in complex structural areas is revealed. Taking the Kuqa depression and Mengyejing area as case studies, we employ discrete element numerical simulations to analyze favorable potash salt metallogenic areas in complex structural settings.The results indicate that: ① salt structures in craton basins are mainly controlled by gravity loads, which generate differential loads at the progradation front, which is conducive to the development of large- scale salt piercing structures; ② the thinning of overlying strata and the presence of normal faults in tensile environments provide space for the salt diapir upwelling, where rock salt converges at the fault zone; ③ under compressional environments, rock salt converges in the core of anticline structure, syntectonic sedimentation, pre- existing salt diapir, and basement uplift can affect the formation and evolution of salt anticlines; ④ rock salt in the Kuqa depression has thickened and converged in the southern Qiulitage structural belt and the northern Kelasu structural belt anticline core. The northern Kelasu structural belt exhibits strong compressional deformation, while the southern Qiulitage structural belt shows promising potassium indications, making it a favorable exploration target; ⑤ Mengyejing potassium salt deposit exhibits a two- story model: deep source salt and shallow accumulation. The deep Jurassic marine strata have great potential for source salt mineralization. Hidden potassium salt deposits may exist near fault zones where small- scale rock salt is exposed in the shallow subsurface.