Have walls historically been better at keeping people out

>>3184599
Yes

>>3184599
Keeping people out. Invasion is harder than an escape.

>>3184599
Walls are used to:

1) force an opponent to meet your army on your terms. Siege warfare is time consuming in all cases and risky unless you're assured victory. Even if that victory comes, you pay with blood and important supplies that cannot be replaced. If the enemy commits to such an act, their mobility is limited and you can plan freely to destroy them.

2) prevent raids. A small group of fighters can do considerable damage to the unprepared. A wall helps mitigate the speed at which a raider can affect this damage. Aurelians walls are a good example of them. The Rhine or Danube can be crossed, but how can 1000 men loot a fortress of 10,000 behind a sturdy wall?

3)reduce enemy logistics. An invading force will, of course, overcome any obstacle to achieve their wargoal unless resisted. A wall does not resist, but rather restrict. Hadrians wall is a good example. It restricted movement from the north, so Picts couldn't do more than small raids. Getting over a wall is no problem, until you need to get the horse, it's food, and the supplies it's carrying over before someone raises an alarm.

4) psychological warfare. Everyone knows what a wall is, only a few can build a mighty wall. This alone is enough to dissuade attack. The theodosian walls of Constantinople were impossible to breach partly because no one had ever done so in 1000 years. It took the largest cannon ever built to do so, after every other part of the empire collapsed. Walls such as these are legendary to the point where the legend has real effect on morale.

>>3184730
To answer your question, walls are meant to keep people out. That's their purpose.

>>3184730
You play too much video games.

Walls also serve to control trade. Tolls are really effective if there are no ways around them. The great Wall in China is an example of that in action. It regulated trade with the nomads and kept them mostly out. Internally in cities they also provide a safety purpose, by dividing the city into sections to restrict the flow of people.