Did anyone ever build an engine with the rings

Not that I can think of. You'd need a piston with a sealing surface above the pin greater than the stroke, and the crank centerline to deck height needs to be about twice the stroke. This would be a big, heavy engine. It would be far more difficult to (internal) bore ring lands into a block than (external) cut them onto a piston. The rings would expand away from the piston. So you'd have maximum sealing (and resistance) on cold start which would decrease as the engine reached operating temperature and be least at full power.

You get big points for thinking outside the box! But the basic architecture of an IC engine hasn't changed substantially for over 100 years. Billions have been produced the way they have for a reason. It's the simplest and CHEAPEST way to get it done. Having said this, in the early years somebody probably went out of business trying to do what you describe.