Link being a guard makes him aware.
Let's look at Ocarina of Time? Link has grown up in seclusion. The forest is all he knows. He has no concept of what the world looks like beyond the Deku Tree's barrier. He doesn't even know what a castle looks like.
Original LoZ? He ends up in Hyrule during his travels. Likewise, several of the side games put Link in a world he's never been in before (Holodrum, Labrynna, Termina. In the case of TP, he's on the outskirts of Hyrule).
Starting as a guard, at the heart of Hyrule makes Link too aware. He'd have encountered all kinds of tribes in his work, he'd know a fair bit about the world around him.