If I never turned on messages in iCloud are they still saved or viewable

Yes you have to turn on messages see this article https://support.apple.com/en-in/HT201287

Keep your messages in iCloud

iCloud now keeps your entire message history updated and available on all your devices — even when you set up a brand-new device. 

Messages in iCloud are updated automatically, so you have the same messages everywhere you use iMessage

See this also https://support.apple.com/en-in/HT208532

Note : you can't literally view messages at www.icloud.com

If you did not turn on messages in icloud, then your messages would be included in your iCloud backup file. But, you would have to restore the entire contents of the backup to your phone to see them. And since iCloud backups are incremental, you’ll only restore the messages that were on your device when the latest backup was created.