At this point, Nephi and Lehi are deep in traditional Lamanite territory. It is historically the ancestral land of Nephi but has not been under Nephite control for almost two hundred years. Presumably the two brothers made this land their goal because remembering their names and heritage pointed them in that direction. Certainly their success among the Lamanites in the land of Zarahemla would have encouraged them.
They had moved freely through the land of Zarahemla, even though it was under Lamanite political control, a detail suggesting the probable mixed population there. In the land of Nephi, in contrast, they are imprisoned.