You are very correct in that cranking compression does not determine octane requirements. Port layout, squish and dome design are some of the things that determine octane needs.
The head on my bike is setup specifically for 91 octane at ~130psi compression. If i were to get into the 140psi range (say by running a thinner base gasket) i would be looking at needing higher octane fuel because the head was cut specifically for my combination and porting.