V-berths frequently double as sail lockers on cruiser-racers, and consequently have their
hatches on the forward part of the cabin top, where it slopes down (fairly standard on modern FG designs) to meet the foredeck. This has advantages of putting the
hatch "drop" inbetween the V-berth bunks (if the center section is stowed) and gives the person taking in the
spinnaker or doused sail a place to stand to receive the sail.
A lot of offshore boats have a sail/anchor locker forward, and no V-berth, but a collision bulkhead at the forward end of the main saloon. In this case, the foredeck hatch is often raised a few inches or has hatch coamings (an excellent and semi-forgotten idea) installed to divert water away from the opening. The space below is often a workshop, and the hatch more like a garage door.
Lastly, as Sailing Dog notes, a formerly common design was to put the head well forward in the fore peak, and if you are on a run, a heavily built square hatch here (or a hatch with an opening port) is a blessing.
The requirement for a V-berth has in my opinion disposed of a lot of good and formerly common ideas, like having the galley or the head forward on the centerline. I recall here the Hiscock's big steel yacht of the '60s and '70s: Wanderer IV, which I think had these sort of arrangements.