Wanting to put rock down in these two spots. The long narrow strip by sidewalk will be solid rock. The other area my wife wants a rock border of about 1ft and then fill in the middle with mulch. My question is about landscaping fabric will it be a mistake to put that down under the rock? Seeing a lot of people say it's a major hassle down the road.

Also, the area currently drains fine, should I dig down 4" or so and add the rock or will that lead to drainage issues? Plan on using some type of 2-4" river rock.

Why is it a major hassle? I'd put it down and if you dig try to slope it slightly away from the house just as a precaution .

Mainly seeing that it just is difficult to work in after any amount of time from weathering. If stuff needs to be added in planting or redone the fabric is destroyed.

It's not large areas so I'll just use it and if needed deal with it down the road. Seems the savings from rock sinking is definitely worth it.

Put it down. I did exactly what you're doing and have 0 regrets.