If you look at this page:
http://www.vw-resource.com/longblock.html
And scroll about 2/3rds of the way down the page, you will see a drawing picture with the caption "
Slot in the Distributor Driveshaft
Just below the picture. This is what the driveshaft should look like in the #1 TDC position.
As you probably know at this point, the distributor will only fit in one way. If the rotor is pointing in a completely different position than the original distributor that you pulled out, I would be hesitant in trusting said distributor.
However, if its okay then yes, you can rotate your wires one place on the cap in either direction. Shouldn't make any difference as far as something going wrong.