Were they? :P<br/><br/>It's also about defensibility. As it stands, Tanigakure can only be attacked from the air and the main gate. This makes even Suna hesitant to do anything drastic, and what makes Tanigakure in even the slightest possible to have some influence- since you can be sure the ground at the top of the cliffs are heavily mined with exploding tags and other tricks.<br/><br/>Much of the land of rivers is... well... rivers and forest. A Mibu compound some distance away from the village would essentially be all by itself in the middle of the woods, easily surrounded, and vulnerable. Sunagakure would have probably destroyed it in the first war if they got the chance. Sunagakure is at least a Large Village (Minor) with about four times the number of Tani's shinobi. Not to mention Suna has a bona fide Kage with at least 10<strong>elite jounin</strong>compared to Tani's... 2.<br/><br/>So it would be a bad idea to expose yourself like that.