How to interprete this きた


The following sentence stands isolated:

昔から川を治める者が国をよく治めると言われてきた。

"From olden days we are told that the persons who rule the river(s) often rule
the country."

I guess this きた expresses that something comes to me/us here? I didn't
encounter it in a temporal function yet, only in spatial semantics so far.
Thats why I wanted to ask about it.




> From olden days we **are told** that the persons who rule the river(s) often
> rule the country."

is translated as: 昔から川を治める者が国をよく治めると **言われている。**

And

> 昔から川を治める者が国をよく治めると **言われてきた** 。

is translated as:

From olden days we **have been told** that the persons who rule the river(s)
often rule the country."

きた in this context indicates the continuation from the past to the present.

