One of the benefits of living near a river in an ancient civilization is that agriculture and farming is extremely easy. You will likely not have to walk far to get water, and there will probably be a lot of it. you can also find food in most rivers, as in fish and some seaweed, if you are near a large body of water, like the Nile river being close to the Mediterranean sea. The land around the river is usually thriving with life, and you can hunt animals when they come to drink. On the other hand, living near a river also has its drawbacks. The river could flood, leaving you with nothing, as they had no really way to stop a flood of water in the ancient times.