So far as I know, the earliest examples of the song that we have are from the early 20th century; these appear in the Greig-Duncan collection. In 1960, MacColl & Seeger (Singing Island) printed a 4-verse set from Mary Brookbank.

The text "oldhippie" quotes is from Davy Stewart, who said that he'd learned it from another traveller by the name of "Thumby" Mathieson (Kennedy, Folksongs of Britain and Ireland, 789). The same version appears in the DT as TRAMPS AND HAWKERS; no traditional source is named. It has been widely recorded by Revival performers, to the extent that that particular version is probably now the norm, replacing the "scores of versions" that MacColl stated were current as late as the mid 20th century.

Nobody, so far as can be told, knows who wrote it; and it seems likely that more than one person has added verses over the years. MacColl again: "... there are few districts of Scotland which are not mentioned" [in one version or another]. I wouldn't think it particularly old, but it is sung to a tune that goes back further and has been used for a lot of songs over the years. More details are in earlier discussions on the song.