rewritelog empty (Apache/1.3.29 @ linux 2.4.24)

Hello.
I'm running numerious apache's of different versions and platforms, and this
is first time I meet such a strange problem: rewrite log seems to be empty
all the time (though mod_rewrite is being used widely).
What I used:
RewriteLog /var/opt/apache/logs/htacc.log
RewriteLogLevel 9
-------
<IfModule mod_rewrite.c>
RewriteLog /var/opt/apache/logs/htacc.log
RewriteLogLevel 9
</IfModule>
-----
RewriteLog /var/opt/apache/logs/htacc.log
RewriteLogLevel 12
-----
same result: htacc.log being created but stays 0 bytes long (even after
restart). i've tried to chmod/chown it to make it fully accessible to nobody
user -- no way. access.log and error.log are just fine.

Thanks in advance.