  Vortex phenomena are ubiquitous in nature, from vortices of quantum particles
and living cells [1-7], to whirlpools, tornados, and spiral galaxies. Yet,
effective control of vortex transport from one place to another at any scale
has thus far remained a challenging goal. Here, by use of topological
disclination [8,9], we demonstrate a scheme to confine and guide vortices of
arbitrary high-order charges10,11. Such guidance demands a double topological
protection: a nontrivial winding in momentum space due to chiral symmetry
[12,13] and a nontrivial winding in real space arising from collective complex
coupling between vortex modes. We unveil a vorticity-coordinated rotational
symmetry, which sets up a universal relation between the topological charge of
a guided vortex and the order of rotational symmetry of the disclination
structure. As an example, we construct a C3-symmetry photonic lattice with a
single-core disclination, thereby achieving robust transport of an optical
vortex with preserved orbital angular momentum (OAM) that corresponds solely to
one excited vortex mode pinned at zero energy. Our work reveals a fundamental
interplay of vorticity, disclination and higher-order topological phases14-16,
applicable broadly to different fields, promising in particular for OAM-based
photonic applications that require vortex guides, fibers [17,18] and lasers
[19].
