The position of the icons somewhat relates to the order in which they're launched. AFAIK, there is no way to specify a default location for a particular icon.
I said it somewhat depends on the launch order. Some icons, like those for Spotlight, fast user switching, clock, etc. end up in the same location. Others, if you remove them from the Menu Bar and add them back, they appear on the left side of the string of icons. As I said, there is no way I've ever heard of to anchor any/all icons in specific locations.
I believe the OP knows how to do that, as indicated in their first post. What they're looking for is a way to anchor the icon so they don't have to drag it to the preferred location each time. I don't know of any method to achieve that.
I used Bartender for a while. I don't recall an option to set a particular location for any icon. You can hide icons in the Bartender dropdown menu, but the icons that remain on the Menu Bar cannot be anchored to specific locations.
Cool! I don't recall that capability in the version I used. Perhaps they added it in an update after I stopped using it.
