Combustion and fuel distribution characteristics of heavy duty engine with the liquid phase LPG injection(LPLI) were studied in a single cylinder engine, Swirl ratio were varied between 1.2, 2.3, and 3.4 following Ricardo swirl number(Rs) definition, Rs=2.3 showed the best results with lower cycle-by-cycle variation and shorter burning duration in the lean region while strong swirl(Rs=3.4) made these worse for combustion enhancement. Excessive swirl resulted in reverse effects due to high heat transfer and initial flame kernel quenching. Fuel injection timings were categorized with open valve injection(OVI) and closed valve injection(CVI). Open valve injection showed shorter combustion duration and extended lean limit. The formation of rich mixture in the spark plug vicinity was achieved by open valve injection. With higher swirl strength(Rs=3.4) and open valve injection, the cloud of fuel followed the flow direction and the radial air/fuel mixing was limited by strong swirl flow. It was expected that axial stratification was maintained with open-valve injection if the radial component of the swirling motion was stronger than the axial components. The axial fuel stratification and concentration were sensitive to fuel injection timing in case of Rs=3.4 while those were relatively independent of the injection timing in case of Rs=2.3.