Speaker distance

In my small room 8'h x 13.5'w x 9'd, I like the speakers set up on the long wall. Tried it both ways over the decades. 

See Jim Smith excellent book on getting the most out of your audio system - Jim setup thousands of systems over many years and makes specific process recommendations on how to get to best position in your room. Jim has sadly passed but his legacy of knowledge lives on…. Get the book

Here is a YT Video on the subject by Mr Smith. https://youtu.be/CX9y40bPkGI?si=0_BpDmadPmD6BH6-

Placing them on long wall away from the side walls is optimum IF you dont’ get cramped.  Speakers should be out from the wall and don’t sit too close to the back wall to get away from room boundry.

It’s very important to make sure your seating position is not in a null for poor bass response.

IME it’s very much about personal preferences.  Both can sound good but different.  Sitting in the nearfield takes a lot of the influences of the room out but gives yiu more of an upfront/closer to the stage perspective whereas sitting further away from the speakers allows room reflections to come into play more and can give more of a mid-hall perspective and sense of depth/open space.  I much prefer the latter, but you should really try it both ways if you’re not sure which perspective you prefer.  Hope this helps.