I am planting a fig tree in my yard that I got from someone in my town that grows theirs unprotected  with no die back 

Plant the tree with the basal flare even with the soil line.  Planting it too deep will not make it stronger and could weaken the tree.  If it looks like a stick coming out of the ground, you've planted it too deep.

~james

Dave- what's the name of the fig?

James may be right because of his experience but, just using my hunch and unrelated experience with deep planting of tomatoes plants, I thought that if planted deep the fig stick part inside the soil will root anyway. So there should be no harm in planting deep.
Just my thoughts.

I am familiar with the technique of planting tomatoes deeper (so only a few leaves stick out of the ground), but it is not the same with trees.  There is risk in planting trees too deep. There are many websites which discuss the dangers (both short and long-term risks) of planting too deeply.  The basal flare indicates the transition from the root zone to the trunk.  The plant material above and below this line are not the same.  If there is an error in planting depth, it is better to be too high than even slightly too low.

Normally with other trees you wouldn't want to go deeper than the existing base, but I also agree with ottawan and think with figs, particularly young ones, a little deeper is ok, anyone else know for sure?

Figs are similar to tomatoes in that they will both readily grow roots from their trunks, grapes too. Going a little deeper is good in a cold climate because more of the trunk is protected, and suckers will form right away to form a bush. Monsterrat Pons digs a deep and wide "pit" which a fig is planted in the bottom of and filled in as the tree grows taller.

Think "air layer"
only this time it is under ground  instead of in a plastic bottle.
Figs get roots where ever they can.

Grant
Z5b

tomatoes that is exactly what I was thinking,,,, I know that roots grow out of the side of the bark like crazy as in when we air layer thats why I thought planting deeper may help obviously you couldn't do this with maple trees, pine trees etc. things like that I just figured because these root out of the side of the trunk or limbs it may help to make the tree stronger to survive winters unprotected 

When i put hardy chicago inground i went 1or 2 nodes deeper than when it was in pot.
If it dies to soil level it has chance to sprout from one of those nodes and come back.
A young or newer purchased plant that still has somewhat unhardened lower main i would not plant deeper than when it was in pot for fear it could rot the tender wood with the waterings.

I recall seeing an online photo essay about fig growers in an arid climate (I think it may have been Israel) where they dug quite deep holes (3'?) and planted the little trees (might have even been cuttings) way down in the bottom as a strategy to develop strong, deep roots. As the trees grew, the soil was gradually filled in over several seasons until it was about even with the surrounding grade. Seemed to work well for those guys; just don't try it with other trees unless you know for sure it's a species that can tolerate it! James is right--planting most varieties deeper than they originally grew can be disastrous.