Coal mining areas in western China constitute the main reserve base of the nation's coal resources, but the arid climate and fragile water conditions make groundwater highly sensitive to mining disturbance. Overburden fracture propagation and surface subsidence during extraction can deepen the water table and weaken vadosezone recharge, triggering surface drying and ecological degradation. Using the Yili coalfield as a representative case, we examined the coupled response of groundwater and soil water to mining. We developed a multi-layer water-gradient framework linking the phreatic water table, vadose zone, and surface soil, and integrated longterm groundwater monitoring, high-resolution soil-moisture profiles, and numerical simulations under different mining heights. This enabled quantification of disturbance-intensity thresholds and soil-moisture sensitivity to phreatic-level change. With increasing mining height, the water-conducting fracture zone rose markedly, groundwater drawdown intensified, and vadose-zone recharge was disrupted. Consequently, soil moisture declined significantly, with stronger drying at locations closer to the water table; losses reached 79.1% at 14 m depth. Groundwater dynamics largely governed the trajectory and rate of vadose-zone drying, and soil-groundwater feedbacks were nonlinear and lagged. These results underscore the need for integrated hydrogeological assessments prior to mining to optimize mining height and reduce the risk of ecological water imbalance. The study provides new empirical evidence for hydrological responses in arid and semi-arid coalfields and supports water-hazard control and water-resource management in mining areas.