When I'm making a map I've usually always got some kind of story in my mind about the place and people who live there which I use to decide what goes where and why. I just rarely include that information when posting because I doubt people care much about my dumb lore. I think that is why I enjoy doing town and location maps more too because I can quickly have story ideas for the whole place going in as opposed to a continental or country map where there will usually be big chunks missing and it can feel like I'm just trying to fill space.