RC filter location of the components
does location of the circuit components actually matter in RC high/
  low pass filters?


Yes it totally matters: -



At low frequencies (or DC) the capacitor blocks current flow to a large extent and therefore, in the high pass filter, there is very little signal voltage passed to the output. For the low pass filter, at low frequencies, very little signal current flows through the capacitor and therefore the output is not attenuated as much as at high-frequencies.