diff --git a/Makefile b/Makefile
index cadbd847ff..ceaae90fb4 100644
--- a/Makefile
+++ b/Makefile
@@ -245,10 +245,6 @@ allnoconfig: $(CONFIG)/conf
 defconfig: $(CONFIG)/conf
 	@$(CONFIG)/conf -d $(CONFIG_CONFIG_IN)
 
-%_defconfig: $(CONFIG)/conf
-	cp $(shell find . -name $@) .config
-	@$(CONFIG)/conf -o $(CONFIG_CONFIG_IN)
-
 # check if download URLs are outdated 
 source-check: allyesconfig
 	$(MAKE) _source-check
@@ -267,6 +263,11 @@ distclean: clean
 
 endif # ifeq ($(strip $(BR2_HAVE_DOT_CONFIG)),y)
 
+%_defconfig: $(CONFIG)/conf
+	cp $(shell find ./target/ -name $@) .config
+	@$(CONFIG)/conf -o $(CONFIG_CONFIG_IN)
+
+
 .PHONY: dummy subdirs release distclean clean config oldconfig \
 	menuconfig tags check test depend defconfig