“An expedition was sent in 1949 to check [a Turkish villager’s reporting] he had seen the remains of Noah’s ark on Mount Ararat.”

I know the answer is [the report of a Turkish villager that], but I am confused as to why the answer cannot be [the Turkish villager report saying].

The “report…that…” phrase makes sense to me. Is “report saying” an incorrect phrase?

“The Turkish villager report” is too specific. Is there only one Turkish villager in Turkey? Is the reader of this sentence already supposed to be aware of the report and the nationality of the villager who made it?