Learn Spanish (Latin America): Hacía dos años que el náufrago vivía solo. - The castaway had been living alone for two years.

Hace is used for actions ongoing in the present (e.g., Hace dos años que vive solo means he has been living alone for two years and still is today). Because this is a narrative set in the past, the reference point shifts backward. We use the imperfect hacía to show that, from that past moment, two years had passed.

English translates this as 'had been living'. Why does Spanish use the imperfect vivía instead of a past perfect like había estado viviendo?

The formula hacía + [time] + que + [imperfect] naturally translates to the English 'had been doing [something]'. Spanish uses the imperfect (vivía) here because at that specific moment in the past story, the action of living alone was still an ongoing, unfinished reality for the castaway.

Can I reword this sentence so the time expression is at the end?

Yes! You can flip the structure, but you must drop que and use desde. It becomes: El náufrago vivía solo desde hacía dos años. Both versions are perfectly natural and mean the exact same thing.

What if I just used the preterite and said El náufrago vivió solo por dos años?