i have a water garden that has running water like a river and there's moss??? how did the moss get there?
Moss will grown anywhere that is damp/wet and shady.
Moss grows in moist environments. If a seed was somehow carried over, or already there, it would grow near the river.
Plants can be carried by birds feet, by animal poop and just by the wind. Where you have proper conditions for growth, you have plants.