I think that they wanted to make sure that if you climbed to the top of the mountain, there would be something to look at. Nothing more imo.
Ding! 100 points.
They had something similar in Oblivion, you could see something of the surrounding provinces. Don't remember a Morrowind or Skyrim or Black Marsh DLC for Oblivion.
They've just put the roads and gateways in this time so it adds to the feel that the mountains aren't walls that cut off each province.