The village was situated on the western side of Mount Carmel, linked by a secondary road to the coastal highway. Its name meant 'small pool' in Arabic; the Crusaders called it Broiquet. In the late nineteenth century, the hilltop on which Burayka was situated was surrounded by wooded land. 
The modern layout of al-Burayka had an overall north-south orientation. Its houses were made of stone and either mud or cement. The village population was Muslim. A school was founded in 1889, under Ottoman rule, but was closed during the Mandate. Springs and wells provided water for domestic needs. The village economy was based on rainfed agriculture and animal husbandry. Grain was the chief crop, although there were also small numbers of fruit trees and olive trees. In 1944 a total of 1,538 dunums was planted in cereals, and 78 dunums were irrigated or used for orchards. In the vicinity was Khirbat Rusaysa, an artificial mound that probably dates to the Byzantine period. Another khirba (sometimes known as Khirbat Burayka) was close by; exposed building foundations were visible there.
