diff --git a/models/issues/pull.go b/models/issues/pull.go
index 7d299eac27..80b149da5c 100644
--- a/models/issues/pull.go
+++ b/models/issues/pull.go
@@ -901,12 +901,7 @@ func PullRequestCodeOwnersReview(ctx context.Context, pull *Issue, pr *PullReque
 	}
 	defer repo.Close()
 
-	branch, err := repo.GetDefaultBranch()
-	if err != nil {
-		return err
-	}
-
-	commit, err := repo.GetBranchCommit(branch)
+	commit, err := repo.GetBranchCommit(pr.BaseRepo.DefaultBranch)
 	if err != nil {
 		return err
 	}
diff --git a/modules/git/repo_branch.go b/modules/git/repo_branch.go
index 979c5dec91..552ae2bb8c 100644
--- a/modules/git/repo_branch.go
+++ b/modules/git/repo_branch.go
@@ -55,15 +55,8 @@ func (repo *Repository) GetHEADBranch() (*Branch, error) {
 	}, nil
 }
 
-// SetDefaultBranch sets default branch of repository.
-func (repo *Repository) SetDefaultBranch(name string) error {
-	_, _, err := NewCommand(repo.Ctx, "symbolic-ref", "HEAD").AddDynamicArguments(BranchPrefix + name).RunStdString(&RunOpts{Dir: repo.Path})
-	return err
-}
-
-// GetDefaultBranch gets default branch of repository.
-func (repo *Repository) GetDefaultBranch() (string, error) {
-	stdout, _, err := NewCommand(repo.Ctx, "symbolic-ref", "HEAD").RunStdString(&RunOpts{Dir: repo.Path})
+func GetDefaultBranch(ctx context.Context, repoPath string) (string, error) {
+	stdout, _, err := NewCommand(ctx, "symbolic-ref", "HEAD").RunStdString(&RunOpts{Dir: repoPath})
 	if err != nil {
 		return "", err
 	}
diff --git a/modules/gitrepo/branch.go b/modules/gitrepo/branch.go
index dcaf92668d..e13a4c82e1 100644
--- a/modules/gitrepo/branch.go
+++ b/modules/gitrepo/branch.go
@@ -30,3 +30,20 @@ func GetBranchCommitID(ctx context.Context, repo Repository, branch string) (str
 
 	return gitRepo.GetBranchCommitID(branch)
 }
+
+// SetDefaultBranch sets default branch of repository.
+func SetDefaultBranch(ctx context.Context, repo Repository, name string) error {
+	_, _, err := git.NewCommand(ctx, "symbolic-ref", "HEAD").
+		AddDynamicArguments(git.BranchPrefix + name).
+		RunStdString(&git.RunOpts{Dir: repoPath(repo)})
+	return err
+}
+
+// GetDefaultBranch gets default branch of repository.
+func GetDefaultBranch(ctx context.Context, repo Repository) (string, error) {
+	return git.GetDefaultBranch(ctx, repoPath(repo))
+}
+
+func GetWikiDefaultBranch(ctx context.Context, repo Repository) (string, error) {
+	return git.GetDefaultBranch(ctx, wikiPath(repo))
+}
diff --git a/routers/api/v1/repo/repo.go b/routers/api/v1/repo/repo.go
index 5f1af92041..80504b9c33 100644
--- a/routers/api/v1/repo/repo.go
+++ b/routers/api/v1/repo/repo.go
@@ -720,7 +720,7 @@ func updateBasicProperties(ctx *context.APIContext, opts api.EditRepoOption) err
 
 	if ctx.Repo.GitRepo == nil && !repo.IsEmpty {
 		var err error
-		ctx.Repo.GitRepo, err = gitrepo.OpenRepository(ctx, ctx.Repo.Repository)
+		ctx.Repo.GitRepo, err = gitrepo.OpenRepository(ctx, repo)
 		if err != nil {
 			ctx.Error(http.StatusInternalServerError, "Unable to OpenRepository", err)
 			return err
@@ -731,7 +731,7 @@ func updateBasicProperties(ctx *context.APIContext, opts api.EditRepoOption) err
 	// Default branch only updated if changed and exist or the repository is empty
 	if opts.DefaultBranch != nil && repo.DefaultBranch != *opts.DefaultBranch && (repo.IsEmpty || ctx.Repo.GitRepo.IsBranchExist(*opts.DefaultBranch)) {
 		if !repo.IsEmpty {
-			if err := ctx.Repo.GitRepo.SetDefaultBranch(*opts.DefaultBranch); err != nil {
+			if err := gitrepo.SetDefaultBranch(ctx, ctx.Repo.Repository, *opts.DefaultBranch); err != nil {
 				if !git.IsErrUnsupportedVersion(err) {
 					ctx.Error(http.StatusInternalServerError, "SetDefaultBranch", err)
 					return err
diff --git a/routers/private/default_branch.go b/routers/private/default_branch.go
index 2e323129ef..33890be6a9 100644
--- a/routers/private/default_branch.go
+++ b/routers/private/default_branch.go
@@ -9,6 +9,7 @@ import (
 
 	repo_model "code.gitea.io/gitea/models/repo"
 	"code.gitea.io/gitea/modules/git"
+	"code.gitea.io/gitea/modules/gitrepo"
 	"code.gitea.io/gitea/modules/private"
 	gitea_context "code.gitea.io/gitea/services/context"
 )
@@ -20,7 +21,7 @@ func SetDefaultBranch(ctx *gitea_context.PrivateContext) {
 	branch := ctx.Params(":branch")
 
 	ctx.Repo.Repository.DefaultBranch = branch
-	if err := ctx.Repo.GitRepo.SetDefaultBranch(ctx.Repo.Repository.DefaultBranch); err != nil {
+	if err := gitrepo.SetDefaultBranch(ctx, ctx.Repo.Repository, ctx.Repo.Repository.DefaultBranch); err != nil {
 		if !git.IsErrUnsupportedVersion(err) {
 			ctx.JSON(http.StatusInternalServerError, private.Response{
 				Err: fmt.Sprintf("Unable to set default branch on repository: %s/%s Error: %v", ownerName, repoName, err),
diff --git a/routers/web/repo/wiki.go b/routers/web/repo/wiki.go
index 88b63da88d..df15f61b17 100644
--- a/routers/web/repo/wiki.go
+++ b/routers/web/repo/wiki.go
@@ -102,7 +102,7 @@ func findWikiRepoCommit(ctx *context.Context) (*git.Repository, *git.Commit, err
 	commit, errCommit := wikiGitRepo.GetBranchCommit(ctx.Repo.Repository.DefaultWikiBranch)
 	if git.IsErrNotExist(errCommit) {
 		// if the default branch recorded in database is out of sync, then re-sync it
-		gitRepoDefaultBranch, errBranch := wikiGitRepo.GetDefaultBranch()
+		gitRepoDefaultBranch, errBranch := gitrepo.GetWikiDefaultBranch(ctx, ctx.Repo.Repository)
 		if errBranch != nil {
 			return wikiGitRepo, nil, errBranch
 		}
diff --git a/services/context/repo.go b/services/context/repo.go
index 0b15c95e59..56e9fada0e 100644
--- a/services/context/repo.go
+++ b/services/context/repo.go
@@ -681,7 +681,7 @@ func RepoAssignment(ctx *Context) context.CancelFunc {
 		if len(ctx.Repo.Repository.DefaultBranch) > 0 && gitRepo.IsBranchExist(ctx.Repo.Repository.DefaultBranch) {
 			ctx.Repo.BranchName = ctx.Repo.Repository.DefaultBranch
 		} else {
-			ctx.Repo.BranchName, _ = gitRepo.GetDefaultBranch()
+			ctx.Repo.BranchName, _ = gitrepo.GetDefaultBranch(ctx, ctx.Repo.Repository)
 			if ctx.Repo.BranchName == "" {
 				// If it still can't get a default branch, fall back to default branch from setting.
 				// Something might be wrong. Either site admin should fix the repo sync or Gitea should fix a potential bug.
diff --git a/services/mirror/mirror_pull.go b/services/mirror/mirror_pull.go
index 3418cf90df..de4a58f27b 100644
--- a/services/mirror/mirror_pull.go
+++ b/services/mirror/mirror_pull.go
@@ -593,7 +593,7 @@ func checkAndUpdateEmptyRepository(ctx context.Context, m *repo_model.Mirror, gi
 			m.Repo.DefaultBranch = firstName
 		}
 		// Update the git repository default branch
-		if err := gitRepo.SetDefaultBranch(m.Repo.DefaultBranch); err != nil {
+		if err := gitrepo.SetDefaultBranch(ctx, m.Repo, m.Repo.DefaultBranch); err != nil {
 			if !git.IsErrUnsupportedVersion(err) {
 				log.Error("Failed to update default branch of underlying git repository %-v. Error: %v", m.Repo, err)
 				desc := fmt.Sprintf("Failed to update default branch of underlying git repository '%s': %v", m.Repo.RepoPath(), err)
diff --git a/services/repository/adopt.go b/services/repository/adopt.go
index 7ca68776b5..0ac3c774b7 100644
--- a/services/repository/adopt.go
+++ b/services/repository/adopt.go
@@ -127,24 +127,17 @@ func adoptRepository(ctx context.Context, repoPath string, u *user_model.User, r
 
 	repo.IsEmpty = false
 
-	// Don't bother looking this repo in the context it won't be there
-	gitRepo, err := gitrepo.OpenRepository(ctx, repo)
-	if err != nil {
-		return fmt.Errorf("openRepository: %w", err)
-	}
-	defer gitRepo.Close()
-
 	if len(defaultBranch) > 0 {
 		repo.DefaultBranch = defaultBranch
 
-		if err = gitRepo.SetDefaultBranch(repo.DefaultBranch); err != nil {
+		if err = gitrepo.SetDefaultBranch(ctx, repo, repo.DefaultBranch); err != nil {
 			return fmt.Errorf("setDefaultBranch: %w", err)
 		}
 	} else {
-		repo.DefaultBranch, err = gitRepo.GetDefaultBranch()
+		repo.DefaultBranch, err = gitrepo.GetDefaultBranch(ctx, repo)
 		if err != nil {
 			repo.DefaultBranch = setting.Repository.DefaultBranch
-			if err = gitRepo.SetDefaultBranch(repo.DefaultBranch); err != nil {
+			if err = gitrepo.SetDefaultBranch(ctx, repo, repo.DefaultBranch); err != nil {
 				return fmt.Errorf("setDefaultBranch: %w", err)
 			}
 		}
@@ -188,7 +181,7 @@ func adoptRepository(ctx context.Context, repoPath string, u *user_model.User, r
 			repo.DefaultBranch = setting.Repository.DefaultBranch
 		}
 
-		if err = gitRepo.SetDefaultBranch(repo.DefaultBranch); err != nil {
+		if err = gitrepo.SetDefaultBranch(ctx, repo, repo.DefaultBranch); err != nil {
 			return fmt.Errorf("setDefaultBranch: %w", err)
 		}
 	}
@@ -197,6 +190,13 @@ func adoptRepository(ctx context.Context, repoPath string, u *user_model.User, r
 		return fmt.Errorf("updateRepository: %w", err)
 	}
 
+	// Don't bother looking this repo in the context it won't be there
+	gitRepo, err := gitrepo.OpenRepository(ctx, repo)
+	if err != nil {
+		return fmt.Errorf("openRepository: %w", err)
+	}
+	defer gitRepo.Close()
+
 	if err = repo_module.SyncReleasesWithTags(ctx, repo, gitRepo); err != nil {
 		return fmt.Errorf("SyncReleasesWithTags: %w", err)
 	}
diff --git a/services/repository/branch.go b/services/repository/branch.go
index 402814fb9a..763fb966c5 100644
--- a/services/repository/branch.go
+++ b/services/repository/branch.go
@@ -375,7 +375,7 @@ func RenameBranch(ctx context.Context, repo *repo_model.Repository, doer *user_m
 				log.Error("CancelRunningJobs: %v", err)
 			}
 
-			err2 = gitRepo.SetDefaultBranch(to)
+			err2 = gitrepo.SetDefaultBranch(ctx, repo, to)
 			if err2 != nil {
 				return err2
 			}
@@ -540,7 +540,7 @@ func SetRepoDefaultBranch(ctx context.Context, repo *repo_model.Repository, gitR
 			log.Error("CancelRunningJobs: %v", err)
 		}
 
-		if err := gitRepo.SetDefaultBranch(newBranchName); err != nil {
+		if err := gitrepo.SetDefaultBranch(ctx, repo, newBranchName); err != nil {
 			if !git.IsErrUnsupportedVersion(err) {
 				return err
 			}
diff --git a/services/repository/create.go b/services/repository/create.go
index 8d8c39197d..971793bcc6 100644
--- a/services/repository/create.go
+++ b/services/repository/create.go
@@ -177,12 +177,7 @@ func initRepository(ctx context.Context, repoPath string, u *user_model.User, re
 
 	if len(opts.DefaultBranch) > 0 {
 		repo.DefaultBranch = opts.DefaultBranch
-		gitRepo, err := gitrepo.OpenRepository(ctx, repo)
-		if err != nil {
-			return fmt.Errorf("openRepository: %w", err)
-		}
-		defer gitRepo.Close()
-		if err = gitRepo.SetDefaultBranch(repo.DefaultBranch); err != nil {
+		if err = gitrepo.SetDefaultBranch(ctx, repo, repo.DefaultBranch); err != nil {
 			return fmt.Errorf("setDefaultBranch: %w", err)
 		}
 
diff --git a/services/repository/generate.go b/services/repository/generate.go
index c444b60b2c..9b09e271ab 100644
--- a/services/repository/generate.go
+++ b/services/repository/generate.go
@@ -272,12 +272,7 @@ func generateGitContent(ctx context.Context, repo, templateRepo, generateRepo *r
 		repo.DefaultBranch = templateRepo.DefaultBranch
 	}
 
-	gitRepo, err := gitrepo.OpenRepository(ctx, repo)
-	if err != nil {
-		return fmt.Errorf("openRepository: %w", err)
-	}
-	defer gitRepo.Close()
-	if err = gitRepo.SetDefaultBranch(repo.DefaultBranch); err != nil {
+	if err = gitrepo.SetDefaultBranch(ctx, repo, repo.DefaultBranch); err != nil {
 		return fmt.Errorf("setDefaultBranch: %w", err)
 	}
 	if err = UpdateRepository(ctx, repo, false); err != nil {
diff --git a/services/repository/migrate.go b/services/repository/migrate.go
index aae2ddc120..df5cc67ae1 100644
--- a/services/repository/migrate.go
+++ b/services/repository/migrate.go
@@ -57,14 +57,7 @@ func cloneWiki(ctx context.Context, u *user_model.User, opts migration.MigrateOp
 		return "", err
 	}
 
-	wikiRepo, err := git.OpenRepository(ctx, wikiPath)
-	if err != nil {
-		cleanIncompleteWikiPath()
-		return "", fmt.Errorf("failed to open wiki repo %q, err: %w", wikiPath, err)
-	}
-	defer wikiRepo.Close()
-
-	defaultBranch, err := wikiRepo.GetDefaultBranch()
+	defaultBranch, err := git.GetDefaultBranch(ctx, wikiPath)
 	if err != nil {
 		cleanIncompleteWikiPath()
 		return "", fmt.Errorf("failed to get wiki repo default branch for %q, err: %w", wikiPath, err)
diff --git a/services/repository/push.go b/services/repository/push.go
index 89a3127902..0aeb4c830b 100644
--- a/services/repository/push.go
+++ b/services/repository/push.go
@@ -182,7 +182,7 @@ func pushUpdates(optsList []*repo_module.PushUpdateOptions) error {
 						repo.DefaultBranch = refName
 						repo.IsEmpty = false
 						if repo.DefaultBranch != setting.Repository.DefaultBranch {
-							if err := gitRepo.SetDefaultBranch(repo.DefaultBranch); err != nil {
+							if err := gitrepo.SetDefaultBranch(ctx, repo, repo.DefaultBranch); err != nil {
 								if !git.IsErrUnsupportedVersion(err) {
 									return err
 								}
diff --git a/services/wiki/wiki.go b/services/wiki/wiki.go
index 6f1ca120b0..1b921a44bd 100644
--- a/services/wiki/wiki.go
+++ b/services/wiki/wiki.go
@@ -370,6 +370,14 @@ func ChangeDefaultWikiBranch(ctx context.Context, repo *repo_model.Repository, n
 			return fmt.Errorf("unable to update database: %w", err)
 		}
 
+		oldDefBranch, err := gitrepo.GetWikiDefaultBranch(ctx, repo)
+		if err != nil {
+			return fmt.Errorf("unable to get default branch: %w", err)
+		}
+		if oldDefBranch == newBranch {
+			return nil
+		}
+
 		gitRepo, err := gitrepo.OpenWikiRepository(ctx, repo)
 		if errors.Is(err, util.ErrNotExist) {
 			return nil // no git repo on storage, no need to do anything else
@@ -378,14 +386,6 @@ func ChangeDefaultWikiBranch(ctx context.Context, repo *repo_model.Repository, n
 		}
 		defer gitRepo.Close()
 
-		oldDefBranch, err := gitRepo.GetDefaultBranch()
-		if err != nil {
-			return fmt.Errorf("unable to get default branch: %w", err)
-		}
-		if oldDefBranch == newBranch {
-			return nil
-		}
-
 		err = gitRepo.RenameBranch(oldDefBranch, newBranch)
 		if err != nil {
 			return fmt.Errorf("unable to rename default branch: %w", err)