During a visit to Monticello, I saw that Jefferson's figs survive, even on a mountaintop in Virginia, because they're right up against a south-facing wall.
So I planted figs along our south-facing wall, which is brick, and the next door house blocks almost all wind except east wind. No north wind at all.
They don't even die back, just go dormant, even when we have hard freeze.
This is in Northern Va.
We don't freeze for more than 12 hours down here (Central TX) so the things get huge, produce fruit regardless of drought and don't drown in the clay soil we have like a lot of other drought resistance plants/trees.