Sometimes "embedded" and "micro-controller" get confused, for example the 80186/8 (last i looked) is an embedded microprocessor while the 80c251 is a microcontroller.

the first microcontroller i used was the 8048 (circa 1979) we recognized it as an alternative to the microprocessors we were "embedding" because it had internal code store, scratch RAM, and decoded port i/o.

When we built an embedded microprocessor (8085/z80) board we had external RAM, ROM, SIO, Timers and had to decode our port i/o. The 8048 had these features integrated into it's package.

When i embedded an 80188 (circa 1985) i used external RAM, ROM, and had to decode my port i/o. It did integrate SIO and Timers and a DMA unit. This felt very "micro-controllerish" compared to the 80286 design i was also doing at the time (and the 3/4/"5"-86 designs done since.