Dreaming tracks can run for hundreds, even thousands of kilometres, from desert to the coast and crossing through many 'countries'. Stories and songs which relate the creation events that occurred along Dreaming tracks may be shared by peoples in countries through which the tracks pass. For this reason Dreaming tracks are sometimes known as 'songlines'. Sacred sites and Dreaming tracks also serve the important function of defining Aboriginal countries. Clan estates, and larger tribal or language areas, are largely defined not so much by rigid external boundaries but by the location and significance of sacred sites, Dreaming tracks and other special places.
Sacred sites can provide the focal points and also often the name of clan estates.
Similarly, the path of Dreaming tracks within or between estates help to define their size and shape. Since sacred sites represent the cultural core of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander countries, it is not surprising that knowledge about these places has survived across much of Australia, even in places where other cultural knowledge may have been lost. Sacred sites have been documented in recent times in many remote and urban areas and continue to be of great significance to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.