Rightly (or wrongly) on my Mk2, they are going over the engine mount and they are covered in a plastic outer coating to prevent wear due to movement/vibration.
I think under. https://workshop-manuals.com/volksw...isted_steering_reservoir_and_hydraulic_lines/ On my car with mk3 parts, high pressure it has a bracket on the gearbox m7 bolt, low pressure one bracket on the engine mount bolt.
yes they go underneath. there is a very high tech bracket to hold the pipes, you have a flat bit of steel bent into a J shape bolted to the front of the block. You then chuck the pipes into it heres a piccy of it, might have to go to a specialist engineering shop to reproduce and make sure you spec the highest quality steel:
for the mk3 golf there is a bracket bolted to a stud on the end of the lower starter motor bolt to hold up the pressure line, the return has a metal pipe bolted to the front carrier