Yes I don’t have any other information to go off that would otherwise negate the 300 year old claim.
Yes I don’t find issue with setting the primary structure as you can see from my post w this tree , the guy wire is on the backside kit the front , and even if old bark the screw isn’t hurting the tree. You could also use old bark to cover that drill hole using cut paste to hold it in place. Not that uncommon.