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I'm sure ford had some kind of alignment jig so the distributors would all end up rotated with the vacuum advance in the same spot when the timing was set. But it really doesn't matter because there should be enough adjustment to set the timing no matter where the gear is put on.
Most distributors I have worked on have a roll pin holding the gear on. I had one shear a roll pin. I could easily turn the distributor by the rotor. That was the clue to where the "no start" problem was. I've had a couple strip all the teeth off of the gear too on the phone company trucks. I should have some 8BA distributers out in the garage. I'll take a look and maybe I can line up the points with number one and we can find a reference point to see where the gear teeth are at. If I have more than one, it will be interesting to see if they are the same. Kind of a fun little project. I'm with you, anywhere will work but there probably was a gear tooth alignment spot. Why not make it right if you can? If they used a metal vacuum line the factory assembly line would have needed the vacuum advances in the same spot on each engine so the metal line would not require bending.