To improve the accuracy of acoustic emission source locating for concrete panel damage in rockfill dams, a combined acoustic emission source locating method based on wave velocity correction, BSO-IGeiger method, is proposed. Wave velocity correction is used to improve the known constant wave velocity time difference method (Geiger method) and a localization objective function is established. The localization objective function is solved using the learning elimination mechanism-based beetle herd search algorithm (BSO). At the same time, a sensor array health monitoring network layout method is developed for area localization and sensor survival detection to ensure the reliability of the sound source localization of the rockfill dam panel. The experimental verification results show that the locating effect of BSO-IGeiger method is significantly better than that of Geiger method and the unknown constant wave velocity time difference method.