To meet the requirements of the story drift ratio limits of structures impacted by small earthquakes, the section sizes of many vertical members are large, especially in seismic fortification areas with high seismic activity. In addition to meeting the requirements of comfort and normal use of decorative structures and mechanical equipment, the main purpose of controlling the story drift ratio under a small earthquake is to ensure that the structure will not collapse under a large earthquake. According to the data of 128 strong earthquake waves in Kashgar, Xinjiang (intensity 8.5 degrees) and local projects, and by referring to the provisions of different codes on story drift ratio limits, six shear wall structural models are designed by taking the story drift ratio and height as control parameters. The seismic performance evaluation method based on member deformation is used to study structural safety under large earthquakes. Results indicate that the six shear wall structures meet the requirement of “no collapse under large earthquakes” under the action of an 8.5- degree earthquake and possess a reasonable yield energy dissipation mechanism under twice the impact. The limit value of the elastic story drift ratio of the shear wall structure in Kashgar (Xinjiang, China) can be relaxed to 1/500 under small earthquakes.