There are back cove types who speak Elizabethan English. Some rely on guns and Bibles in that order. Mountain pitfalls, like forests to get lost in, help create suspense. When I went there to plot the action, I had to watch out for bears. They love caves.
Mountains can be dangerous.
According to Marlys Millhiser, location is not just the mantra for Realtors. Readers of her fiction would agree that atmosphere and location are often the driving force of the story. I believe environment influences human behavior, from the amount of comfort to the amount of light. Place suggests the story to me. How characters react to place develops the story.